


Just Play Along

by Yikes_Writes



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Dumb boys that could fix all of their problems by having one (1) conversation, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25855354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yikes_Writes/pseuds/Yikes_Writes
Summary: “Steve!” He smiled stiffly as Nancy threw herself down the stairs, wrapping him up in a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you.” She held him at arm's length. “Oh! And this must be your boyfriend. Billy, right?”“Oh, he’s not-”“Yep! Steve’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to her, shaking it firmly, elbowing Steve.-Nancy's getting married, and Steve needs a plus one.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 14
Kudos: 256





	Just Play Along

**Author's Note:**

> This is 2/2 giveaway fics for my 1k follower celebration on tumblr!
> 
> -
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr [@yikesharringrove](https://yikesharringrove.tumblr.com/)!

See the moodboard for this fic [here](https://imgur.com/a/Y3s6qqu).

-

Steve was staring at the paper.

It was nice paper, that thick cardstock reserved for events like this one.

_ Theodore and Karen Wheeler and proud to announce the marriage of their daughter, Nancy Elizabeth Wheeler, to Jonathan Matthew Byers _ . 

She’s getting  _ married _ . And gave Steve a plus one he  _ can’t fill _ to a destination wedding he  _ can’t afford _ . 

_ Awesome _ . 

Billy pushed past where he was standing in the kitchen, Steve barely budging at all.

“You okay, Pretty Boy?” Steve and Billy had lived together for nearly six years now. 

It had been an accident, how they wound up together. Billy used to live across the hall from him, but as fate would have it, he was  _ being _ kicked out by his then-boyfriend, while Steve was  _ kicking out _ his then-girlfriend. 

Steve was red-faced, wine drunk, pissed off at his cheating girlfriend, had pointed  _ right _ at Billy. 

“You a fucking  _ cheater _ ?”

“Nah. Bit of a drinker, though.”

“Great. You’re moving in with me.”

So the room that had once been Steve’s girlfriend’s  _ craft room _ , was turned into Billy’s bedroom. 

And it’s stayed like that since. 

Billy whipped the invite outta his hands.

“Who’s  _ this _ ?”

“My ex-girlfriend.” Billy raised one eyebrow at him. “From high school,  _ not _ the cheater. Although, I mean, she didn’t  _ cheat _ on me, but we never really  _ broke up _ and she started dating  _ this guy _ ,” Steve pointed to the invite, Nancy and Jonathan staring lovingly at one another. “And now I’m gonna go to their wedding  _ alone _ , because I’m a fucking  _ loser _ and-”

“Okay, deep breath.” Steve stared him down, taking a comically short breath. Billy stared at him. He took a deeper one. “Look, I can go with you, if you want.”

“It’s up in some resort town in Maine, and I’m broke as all hell.” 

“I can spot it.” Steve huffed. “ _ C’mon _ , Pretty Boy. Let’s go, get  _ wildly _ drunk, and have a good time. You haven’t taken more than two days off in like, a year and a half.” Steve rolled his eyes. 

“ _ Fine _ .”

-

Steve had slept almost the entire flight. 

He got  _ nervous _ on airplanes, had taken a sleeping pill for the cross country flight. He had curled against Billy’s side, drooled on his shoulder for a few hours. 

Billy watched him, the way he would snuffle, his nose twitching like a little rabbit. He smiled fondly at Steve, running one hand through his hair, trying to wake him up gently before touch down. 

“Sugar, we’re here.” Steve blinked up at him, smiling sweetly and all  _ Steve pretty _ . 

Billy’s stomach fluttered. 

-

The town was  _ beautiful _ . 

It was early fall, off season for a little resort town, and the main street was nearly dead. 

Billy drove the rental car to the boutique hotel. Nancy had rented out a block of rooms for all the guests. 

They pulled up, stretching as they got out of the car, Billy getting the bags from the back. 

“Steve!” He smiled stiffly as Nancy threw herself down the stairs, wrapping him up in a tight hug. “It’s  _ so _ good to see you.” She held him at arm's length. “Oh! And this must be your boyfriend. Billy, right?”

“Oh, he’s not-”

“Yep! Steve’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to her, shaking it firmly, elbowing Steve. 

Nancy led them into the hotel, chattering to Billy, asking them how long they’ve been together. 

“Steve  _ never _ tells me  _ anything _ , anymore. Of course, he’s mentioned you, but he never said  _ boyfriend _ , just, you know,  _ Billy did the sweetest thing today _ .” Steve spoke with Nancy every few months on the phone.

“Well, it kinda happened accidentally. We had been living together for a while, but we both just wanted something  _ more, _ you know? Just couldn’t  _ resist _ each other.” Billy was laying it on  _ thick _ . 

They had reached their room, and Steve was gonna lose his  _ shit _ . 

There was only one bed. 

Because Nancy had smugly updated them to a  _ suite _ . A  _ honeymoon suite _ . 

She gave them each a hug before leaving them to  _ get settled in _ .

“Why did you go with it? Tell her we’re together?” Billy shrugged.

“Drive her crazy. Seeing your ex happier with someone kinda  _ sucks _ , even if you  _ are _ getting married.”

“What, so you’re trying to make Nancy  _ jealous _ ?” Billy grinned at him. 

“It’ll be fun. Just, play along.”

-

“ _ Just play along _ .” Steve was mimicking snarkily. “ _ It’ll be fun _ .”

He was in the  _ huge _ bathroom in their  _ huge _ suite. He was changing for dinner with the entire Hawkins crew, introducing them all to his  _ fake boyfriend _ for the first time. 

He yanked on a sweater, combing through his hair one last time before sighing into the mirror. 

He’s been in  _ love _ with Billy for  _ years _ now. 

Pretty much ever since he’s moved  _ in _ . And it’s  _ hard enough _ , pining from across the hall for your  _ roommate _ , but now a roommate that you’re sharing a  _ bed _ with, and telling everyone you’re  _ together _ , Steve is fucking  _ over it _ . 

He let himself out of the bathroom, glowering at Billy. 

He was shirtless, going through his suitcase on the luggage rack at the end of the big bed. 

It’s not like Steve has never seen him topless,  _ hell _ , Billy tends to walk around the apartment butt naked. 

But now Steve is in this  _ predicament _ , and the  _ last thing _ he wants to see is Billy’s golden,  _ gorgeous _ body. 

Billy stood up, smiling at him. 

“You ready?” Steve nodded as Billy tugged on a button down shirt, leaving the top few undone, showing off his tan chest, a few of his tattoos. 

They were quiet in the elevator, and then, just as the doors were sliding open, Billy settled one arm around Steve’s waist, pulling him into his side. 

He smelled  _ great _ , like the deep cologne he only brought out for special occasions. He leaned to Steve’s ear, made him  _ shiver _ as he rasped,

“Play along, Sugar.”

He pulled Steve to the restaurant across the street, smiling at the hostess and saying  _ Byers-Wheeler wedding? _

Everyone  _ cheered _ when they saw Steve, and his heart panged a bit. He  _ really _ needed to get back to Hawkins more often. 

Hugs were passed around, and they all found their seats. 

“Why didn’t you  _ tell us _ you and Billy had started dating?” Steve smiled at Joyce sheepishly. 

“It was such a natural transition for us, I guess. We just kinda, fell into one another.” Steve’s pretty sure he heard that in a movie or pulled it  _ right _ from a shitty young adult novel. 

“Well, you two are  _ sweet _ .” She smiled at them. 

And Billy swooped forward, kissing Steve  _ right _ on the cheek. Steve’s face  _ burned _ . 

“Oh, come on! Give him a real kiss!” Steve  _ glared _ at Dutin as the whole gang began  _ jeering _ at them, wolf-whistling and causing a damn  _ commotion _ . 

Steve shot the rest of his wine, grabbed Billy’s cheeks, and planted a fat one on him. 

-

They were quiet as they made their way back up to their room, Billy trudging a few feet behind Steve. 

He was  _ terrified _ he had overstepped his bounds by kissing Billy. He had been so  _ quiet _ after that, so drawn into himself through the rest of dinner. 

He sequestered himself back in the bathroom, changing into his pajamas. 

When he returned, Billy was sitting back in the bed. 

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I just wanted them all to shut the hell up.” He fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt. Billy watched him for a second, smiling up at him. 

“Nah, Pretty Boy. It’s okay. Just not the way I woulda done it.” Steve swallowed thickly. 

“What does  _ that _ mean?” Billy stood up slowly. 

He walked forward, made Steve feel  _ small _ , made him feel like Billy took up  _ all _ the space in the room. 

He took Steve’s wrist, tugging him close to his body. 

Steve’s breath hitched as Billy slid his arms around his waist. 

When their lips touched it was  _ nothing _ like in the restaurant. 

They both moved slow, just a gentle press into one another. 

Billy's hands were warm, searing his skin through his shirt. His lips were as soft as Steve had always thought they’d be,  _ dreamed _ they’d be.

He pulled away, Steve’s eyes still closed. 

“ _ That’s _ how I woulda done it.” And he was gone, the bathroom door closing softly behind him. 

Steve pretended to be asleep when he came out of the shower. 

The bed dipped behind him. Billy  _ always _ ran hot, ran like a fucking  _ furnace _ . 

He scooted closer to Steve in the small bed. The sheets were soft. Billy tugged on the blanket, and Steve was scooched back.

His eyes were wide in the dark, his back pressed against Billy’s side. 

Billy breathed deeply. Steve’s sweatshirt had ridden up in the back, and their skin pressed together. 

It felt like Steve was being  _ burned _ , Billy’s skin so  _ hot _ against his. He tried to get away, but the soft mattress gave too much, kept rolling them into one another. 

“ _ Relax _ , Baby.” Billy’s voice was gruff. He sounded half-asleep. “Can hear you thinkin’ from here.”

“Sorry. Goodnight.” And then Billy rolled a bit more, his front pressed into Steve’s side. One thick arm draped over Steve, and all the air was knocked  _ right _ from his lungs. 

“‘Night, Sweet Thing.”

-

Steve had avoided Billy at  _ all costs _ the next day. 

He had gotten up before the sun to go on a run, get breakfast from a little cafe down the street. 

He only saw him back in the room, both their wedding suits hanging neatly on the bathroom door. 

“Hey.” Billy’s smile was relaxed. Steve’s was  _ less so _ . “You ready for this shindig?” Steve just nodded. 

-

The ceremony was short and sweet. Nancy looked  _ beautiful _ in her delicate lace dress. Their vows were lovely, and Steve  _ definitely _ teared up. 

He was able to avoid Billy more at the reception, staying on the dancefloor and  _ not _ looking towards his seat next to Billy’s. 

Until he turned around, turned around, and saw Billy pressed against a cater waiter, smirking down at him like he was gonna  _ eat him _ . 

Steve took a shaky breath. 

And Billy looked up, bright blue eyes meeting his across the way. 

And Steve ran. 

The reception was outside, made it  _ real _ easy for Steve to sprint down the road. 

“Steve!” He kept running, put his head down, and  _ went _ . “Steve, can you  _ slow down _ ?” Steve stopped abruptly, his chest heaving. He flopped onto a bench, tugging his jacket tighter around him. Billy slammed down next to him, panting hard. “ _ Christ _ , Pretty Boy, you’re a fuck of a lot faster than I was expectin’.”

“Swam in high school. Got a lotta stamina.” Billy huffed a laugh. 

“Any reason why you needed to do a quick 5K?” Steve bit his bottom lip. 

“It’s dumb.”

“No, it’s not, Stevie. Never dumb when it means somethin’ to you.” 

“I just, I uh, you were flirting with that waiter.” His heart was  _ pounding _ in his chest. “Gonna blow our cover.”

“That’s not why you freaked.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Nope.”

“Yes!” Steve was starting to get frustrated, Billy didn’t  _ know him _ like that. 

“Nuh-uh.” Billy  _ did _ know him like that. “Just tell me what’s buggin’ you, Baby.”

“It’s  _ that _ ! It’s the  _ Baby _ and the  _ Sugar _ and the sleeping all pressed together, and the  _ that’s how I woulda kissed you _ and just fucking  _ all of it _ , Billy!”

“I don’t, I don’t know if I understand.”

“Billy, I’m in  _ love _ with you! Have been for fucking  _ ever _ , and it was  _ fine _ , but doing this,  _ pretending _ like this, it fucking  _ hurts _ Billy.” He turned away to swipe at his eyes.

“Baby-”

“ _ Don’t _ .”

“Just hear me out-”

“Billy, it’s  _ okay _ . I know you don’t feel the same and-”

“Who said?”

“Who said what?”

“That I don’t feel the same.” Steve’s heart stuttered in his chest. 

“I just, you never said anything.”

“Neither did you.” Billy was staring intensely at him in the fading light. 

And Steve didn’t think. Didn’t  _ want to _ think. 

He swung one leg over Billy’s lap, settled his weight, and fucking  _ kissed him _ . 

It was  _ nothing _ like either kiss. It was  _ real _ , and  _ sweet _ , and Steve can’t remember the last time he’s been kissed like  _ this _ , like Billy was simultaneously stealing the breath  _ right _ out of his lungs, and breathing new life into his body. 

They both pulled away, breathing hard, staring at one another. 

“Fuck,” Steve breathed.

“My thoughts exactly.”


End file.
